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Connor Hellebuyck

Jets Activate Connor Hellebuyck

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The Winnipeg Jets will get an MVP-boost to Saturday’s match against the Washington Capitals. Reigning Hart Trophy winner Connor Hellebuyck was activated off of injured reserve just in time for Hellebuyck to take on the starting role. He underwent an arthtroscopic knee procedure on November 21st that was originally expected to hold him out for four-to-six weeks. He now returns just three weeks later.

This will be some great news for the Jets, who have posted a dismal 2-7-1 record since Hellebuyck’s exit. They’ve been among the NHL’s worst performers in that stretch, allowing the second-most goals against (38) and the third-worst goals-against per-game average (3.80) of any team. Their offense has struggled just as much, only scoring 24 goals, or 2.40 goals-per-game.

Winnipeg was rock solid before losing their superstar goaltender. They had a 12-7-0 record and 64-to-52 goal-differential prior to Hellebuyck’s absence. The three-time Vezina Trophy-winner himself had eight wins and a .913 save percentage in 14 games. That’s his lowest save percentage since the 2021-22 season, but still ranks as the sixth-highest in the league among goalies with 14-or-more starts.

Hellebuyck’s precedent often sits far above sixth-best. He led the NHL in wins (47), save percentage (.925), and goals-against-average (2.00) among goalies with at least 35 starts last season. It was enough to earn Hellebuyck MVP acknowledgement, making him the first goaltender to take home the Hart since Carey Price in 2015. Hellebuyck certainly sits in-line with that company – boasting a career-long .918 Sv% in 582 games, to Price’s career .917 Sv% in 712 games.

The Jets’ goalie room quickly dries up with their starter on the shelf. Eric Comrie took on the starting role over the last few weeks, but only managed to bring his stat line up to six wins and a .886 Sv% in 15 appearances. Thomas Milic also posted a .871 Sv% in three appearances. The 22-year-old is only one season removed from an extended run in the ECHL. With these shifts, Hellebuyck will return to an unrivaled role in Winnipeg’s starter’s crease, while Milic heads back to a competition for the AHL starting role.

Injury Notes: Hellebuyck, Ellis, Perbix

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On today’s episode of Insider Trading, Darren Dreger of TSN discussed Connor Hellebuyck, saying that the Jets goaltender is nearing a return, as soon as next week. Dreger says the star wanted to return even sooner, but Winnipeg is making sure he is eased back in properly. Next Monday’s home game vs. Ottawa could be the focus. 

Hellebuyck underwent a minor arthroscophic knee procedure in November, which came with an estimated 4-6 week timetable, but thankfully the back-to-back Vezina winning netminder has recovered quickly and is set to come back by year’s end. He was 8-6-0 with a .913 save percentage and 2.51 GAA prior to going down. 

The defending President’s Trophy winners have faltered a bit so far this season, losing six out of their last 10 and currently three spots out of a wild card spot, but the team has had to lean heavily on Eric Comrie, a respectable backup who has never played in more than 20 games a season. Hellebuyck’s return will be instrumental for the group going into 2026 as they look to get back on track.

Elsewhere across the league:

  • Midway through tonight’s game the Buffalo Sabres announced that goaltender Colten Ellis will not return due to an upper-body injury, leaving Alex Lyon to take duty. He was shaken up after Oilers forward David Tomasek drove to the net, catching the goalie’s head with his shoulder, which earned a penalty, and ending Ellis’ night with a minute remaining in the first period. The 25-year-old has flashed potential as a backup this season, after being claimed off waivers from St. Louis in October. 
  • Nashville beat reporter Brooks Bratten shared that defenseman Nick Perbix would return to the lineup tonight against Colorado. The Minnesota native had missed the last three games with an upper-body ailment, and has been a dependable blueliner since signing from Tampa Bay last summer. Nashville opted for seven defensemen tonight, as forward Tyson Jost was healthy scratched against his former team. 

Central Injury Notes: Brindley, O’Connor, Hellebuyck, McCarron

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Speaking on Denver’s Altitude Sports Radio (via Evan Rawal of The Denver Gazette), head coach of the Colorado Avalanche, Jared Bednar, provided a few injury updates to forwards Gavin Brindley and Logan O’Connor. In a positive development, Bednar indicated that Brindley is ahead of schedule and is expected to return by the end of the team’s current road trip.

Brindley, 21, has been a valuable depth scorer for the Avalanche this season, registering four goals and seven points in 18 games, averaging 9:17 of ice time per night. That production in so few minutes garnered a two-year, $1.75MM extension from Colorado earlier in the season. Despite offering quality production in the team’s bottom-six, it’s difficult to say if the scorching Avalanche even noticed Brindley’s absence, as they’ve managed a 5-0-1 record in the six games without him so far while outscoring opponents 22-6.

Meanwhile, Bednar was more neutral when speaking on O’Connor. The seven-year veteran hasn’t played since Colorado’s Game Seven loss to the Dallas Stars last postseason due to a hip injury, and the team is still waiting for a clearer picture of his return.

Other injury updates from the Central Division:

  • According to Mitchell Clinton of the Winnipeg Jets, the team is expected to have netminder Connor Hellebuyck resume skating relatively soon. Although he won’t be returning early, it’s a positive update that Hellebuyck is staying on his original recovery timeline at the very least and has not suffered a setback. In the report, head coach Scott Arniel jokingly said, “I’m going to make sure he has four yellow (non-contact) jerseys on.” Winnipeg is 2-5-0 without Hellebuyck, allowing 25 goals against on 204 shots (.877 SV%).
  • It doesn’t appear that Nashville Predators forward Michael McCarron will miss any more time with a lower-body injury. Alex Daugherty of The Tennessean reports that McCarron fully participated in practice today after missing the team’s most recent contest against the Calgary Flames. The bottom-six center has scored one goal and five points in 25 games for the Predators this season, with a 53.8% success rate in the faceoff dot.

Jets Recall Elias Salomonsson

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The Jets announced they’ve recalled defense prospect Elias Salomonsson from AHL Manitoba. Connor Hellebuyck is headed to injured reserve in the corresponding move. The placement is retroactive to Nov. 19, his last appearance before undergoing an arthroscopic knee procedure that has him out for another month-plus.

Salomonsson, 21, is coming off an All-Star Game nod in his rookie season with the Moose last year. The smooth-skating righty may be in his second professional season stateside, but he racked up parts of four seasons in Sweden’s top league with Skellefteå before landing in Manitoba. He’s never put up particularly gaudy point totals. However, he’s never been in a position to, logging top-four minutes in a notoriously offense-suffocating SHL before playing top-pairing minutes on a Moose team that scored just 2.35 goals per game last season. Over the past two seasons, he’s posted a 5-28–33 scoring line with a -7 rating in 70 games for Manitoba.

It’s been more of the same from the 6’2″ Salomonsson to begin this year. He’s yet to score a goal through 17 AHL contests, but has six assists – a number that’s tied for the team lead amid another disastrous offensive campaign from the Moose. His even rating has him tied for fourth on the team among skaters with at least 10 appearances this season.

Salomonsson’s skating, stick skills, and vision are what made him the No. 12-ranked European skater by NHL Central Scouting in the 2022 draft. He went to the Jets midway through the second round at No. 55 overall and signed his entry-level contract a few weeks later, although they loaned him to Skellefteå in back-to-back campaigns before the deal went into effect for 2024-25. In those two seasons, Salomonsson advanced with Skellefteå to the Swedish Hockey League championship series both times, winning the crown in 2024. He also earned a silver medal with the Swedes at that year’s World Junior Championship.

Salmonsson ranked inside the league’s top 100 prospects on offseason lists from Elite Prospects (No. 94) and Scott Wheeler of The Athletic (No. 76). He’s universally lauded as Winnipeg’s top defense prospect and is a consensus top-three prospect in their pool.

His ceiling will likely be directly related to his point production at the NHL level. He has enough of a well-rounded skillset to virtually guarantee him a job as Winnipeg’s No. 3 right-shot defender with penalty kill deployment next season after Colin Miller becomes an unrestricted free agent. How his ability to read plays adjusts to the top level will determine whether he can challenge Dylan DeMelo or Neal Pionk for a top-four job and steal some power-play work, too.

In the short term, he’s ticketed to make his NHL debut tomorrow against the Capitals in second-pairing duties alongside Dylan Samberg in place of Pionk, who left Sunday’s game against the Wild in the first period with a lower-body injury. He’s listed as day-to-day and was back on the ice before today’s practice, Kelly Moore of 680 CJOB Winnipeg reports, so he isn’t expected to miss significant time.

With Samberg missing a good chunk of the campaign so far due to wrist surgery, Pionk has struggled. The 30-year-old righty scored 39 points and had a +21 rating in 69 appearances last season, practically a career year, that landed him a six-year, $42MM extension. This season, he’s been limited to a goal and four assists in 21 appearances despite an uptick in power-play deployment. His two-way play has taken a step back, too. After controlling 56.7% of expected goals with Samberg last season, he controlled just 42.5% when Logan Stanley was elevated to his left side in Samberg’s absence to begin this season. Since Samberg’s return, though, his and Pionk’s xGF% is back over 54.

Salmonsson likely won’t stick with the big club once Pionk is healthy, barring a particularly impressive performance alongside Samberg in his debut. He’s still got another year left on his entry-level deal and remains waiver-exempt through that time.

Image courtesy of James Carey Lauder-Imagn Images.

Connor Hellebuyck To Undergo Arthroscopic Knee Procedure, Out 4-6 Weeks

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Jets superstar goaltender Connor Hellebuyck will undergo a minor arthroscopic knee procedure that will keep him out of the lineup for four to six weeks, Darren Dreger of TSN reports. Winnipeg announced they’ve recalled Thomas Milic from the AHL’s Manitoba Moose in a corresponding move. The Jets have an open roster spot and do not need to move Hellebuyck to injured reserve to accommodate Milic’s addition.

It’s an unanticipated bit of news for Hellebuyck, who’s evidently been playing through or aggravating a knee issue through the first several weeks of the season. While he didn’t start the Jets’ last game on Tuesday against the Blue Jackets, he’s shouldered his normal heavy workload this year by starting 14 of Winnipeg’s 19 games. That put him squarely on pace for his fifth consecutive season with 60 or more starts, but he’ll fall short of that mark now.

Hellebuyck being unavailable is extremely rare. The 32-year-old has only missed six games combined since the beginning of the 2021-22 season, all due to illness or personal reasons. In his 11-year NHL career, he’s only missed one game due to injury, which occurred for undisclosed reasons in May 2021.

The back-to-back Vezina Trophy winner has been on something of a cold streak, which could explain the timing to shut him down – combined with a light schedule interrupted by the holiday break that will still get him back in the lineup in time for the Olympics, where he remains the United States’ projected No. 1 option. Hellebuyck peaked with a year-to-date SV% of .932 following his sixth start of the year back on Oct. 23. Since then, he’s produced a more pedestrian .899 SV% and 4-4-0 record in his last eight appearances.

Entering this season, Hellebuyck had posted a SV% of .920 or better in three straight campaigns. Through his 14 appearances in 2025-26, he’s down to a more conservative .913 mark. A deeper look shows that’s more attributable to the team in front of him than his individual play. According to MoneyPuck, Hellebuyck has still saved 12.5 goals above expected, ranking third in the league. That’s done heavy lifting to cover up a Winnipeg defense that’s arguably been a bottom-10 group in the league so far. They’re allowing 28.9 shots per game, 22nd in the league, and their 3.56 expected goals against per 60 in all situations is sixth-worst. That’s a catastrophic drop from last season, when the Jets’ 2.78 xGA/60 ranked third-best in the NHL.

With Hellebuyck still performing at an elite level, the Jets have a 12-7-0 record and are on pace for 104 points, after finishing with 110-plus points each of the last two seasons. They’ll need to do some major defensive clean-up – and quickly – to help them stay above water as they navigate a stretch of 7 of 11 games against teams that made the playoffs last year.

A four-week timeline as a best-case scenario puts Hellebuyck back in the lineup no sooner than Dec. 19 against the Avalanche. That results in a minimum absence of 14 games, but could stretch to 20 if he misses a full six weeks. With Hellebuyck’s earned reputation as arguably the league’s most durable netminder, Winnipeg understandably hasn’t invested much in its goaltending depth. If he’s out for a quarter of the calendar, that could pose a serious issue as the jockey for playoff positioning in a tough Central Division.

Eric Comrie, who’s coming off a career-high of just 20 starts in 2024-25, is now Winnipeg’s No. 1 option until Hellebuyck returns. He was a perfectly passable backup option last year, recording a .914 SV% and 2.5 goals saved above expected with a 9-10-1 record after a pair of difficult seasons in similar deployment with the Sabres. This season, he’s been similarly effective in spot starts with a 4-1-0 record, .908 SV%, 2.60 GAA, and 3.8 GSAx. He’s never been tested in an extended stretch of starts, though, and has been below-average over his 82-game career sample with a .899 SV%, 3.08 GAA, and 37-37-4 record.

If he falters, the Jets don’t have another option in the organization with NHL experience. Acquiring a veteran third-string option, even if there’s a risk of losing him on waivers when Hellebuyck returns, is a prudent move that general manager Kevin Cheveldayoff will no doubt pursue.

In the meantime, Milic steps up from the minors to get his first taste of an NHL bench. The 22-year-old is in his third season of professional hockey after the Jets selected him in the fifth round of the 2023 draft. The former Western Hockey League goalie of the year and World Juniors gold medalist had yet to gain a foothold on a full-time AHL job, splitting each of his first two years between the Moose and the ECHL’s Norfolk Admirals.

Early this year, though, Milic hasn’t just locked down an AHL job; he’s won the wide-open competition to serve as the organizational No. 3 behind Comrie. He’s been given nine starts in Manitoba to fellow youngster Domenic DiVincentiis’ seven and has been the far superior option, logging a .921 SV% and 2.14 GAA with a 5-2-2 record and one shutout. His limited track record makes him a risky choice for extended deployment, especially considering he had a .877 SV% in 21 AHL games just last year. Nonetheless, he’s flashed enough promise through the first few weeks of 2025-26 to earn the initial recall.

Suppose the Jets roll with Comrie and Milic for the time being and limit the latter’s usage to relieving Comrie in back-to-back situations. In that case, his NHL debut won’t come for another week until the Jets play Carolina next Friday before traveling to Nashville on Saturday.

Image courtesy of Sergei Belski-Imagn Images.

Evening Notes: Markstrom, Willander, Mancini, NHL Top 10

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The New Jersey Devils could be the next team to extend their starting goaltender. On the heels of a five-year, $34MM contract extension for Minnesota Wild goaltender Filip Gustavsson, the Devils are now working out a new deal for Jacob Markstrom, per The Fourth Period. Markstrom is entering the final year of a six-year, $36MM contract originally signed with the Calgary Flames in 2020.

Markstrom earned a second-place finish in Vezina Trophy voting on the second year of his last contract, after posting 37 wins and a .922 save percentage in 63 games of the Flames’ 2021-22 season. He fell drastically in 2022, landing at a .895 save percentage in 59 games with Calgary, and only rebounded to a .905 in 48 games of 2023-24. That prompted a summer trade to greener pastures, landing Markstrom with a playoff contender in the New Jersey Devils. He posted a middling .900 save percentage in 49 games of his first season with the Devils. That’s far from the .910 mark that Markstrom routinely challenged at his peak, but on a well-rounded Devils squad, average numbers from the aging veteran have proven supportive enough. He is sure to take a big hit on both term and salary in his next contract, which could take him through the rest of his career.

Other notes from across the league:

  • The Vancouver Canucks made a pair of important decisions earlier today. They have assigned top defense prospects Tom Willander and Victor Mancini to the minor-leagues, after both clung to the camp roster to nearly the final day. Mancini played his first full season in the pros last year. It was certainly eventful, spread between NHL and AHL ice time with the New York Rangers and Canucks, and ending with a Calder Cup win with the Abbotsford Canucks. In total, he recorded eight points in 31 NHL games and 21 points in 54 AHL games on the season. Meanwhile, Tom Willander was a core piece of the National Championship runner-up, the Boston University Terriers. He posted 24 points in 39 games with the club – one point fewer, in one game more, than he managed in his freshman season. Willander is nonetheless a pillar of consistency on both ends of the ice, and will look to prove that soon with his pro debut in Abbotsford.
  • The NHL has announced their top-10 players, wrapping up their Top 50 Players series just two days before Opening Night. The list is, of course, headlined by Edmonton Oilers superstar Connor McDavid. His teammate, Leon Draisaitl, holds the third spot, while Colorado Avalanche superstars Nathan MacKinnon and Cale Makar hold #2 and #4 respectively. The rest of the list includes, in turn: Lightning winger Nikita Kucherov, Panthers center Aleksander Barkov, Penguins center Sidney Crosby, Jets goalie and reigning MVP Connor Hellebuyck, Lightning goalie Andrei Vasilevskiy, and Canucks defender Quinn Hughes. It’s hard to argue any other names should be featured on the list, though Panthers fans may feel salt in the wound seeing their captain, and perennial Selke Trophy candidate, landing in the top-10 on the heels of a season-ending injury.

Goalie Notes: Dostal, Vasilevskiy, Hellebuyck

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The Anaheim Ducks announced today that young starting netminder Lukáš Dostál will be day-to-day with a lower-body injury. 

The 25-year-old is a major key for the Ducks this season, fresh off signing a five-year contract in July. Having made additional offseason moves that affirm the team is pushing for a step forward, much will ride on Dostál and his ability to fill the void left by stalwart John Gibson, who was finally dealt over the summer. Anaheim has steadily developed the talented goaltender, with a workload that has gradually increased year by year. 

Now, with Gibson moving on, Dostal is the undisputed #1, with a fellow Czech, veteran Petr Mrázek in waiting. The Ducks have another notable former Red Wing in their goaltender room as well, in Ville Husso. Yet the 30-year-old, who once flashed serious potential, is likely set to hold things down for AHL San Diego, barring any setbacks from Dostál. 

Additional goaltender notes:

NHL Announces 2024-25 All-Star Teams

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Shortly after announcing this year’s All-Rookie Team, the NHL shared this year’s First and Second All-Star Teams. There are few surprises, with several of the recipients receiving votes for major awards around the league. The teams are as follows:

First Team

LW Kyle Connor (Jets) – Connor arguably completed the best season of his career, scoring 41 goals and 97 points, barely eclipsing his 93-point campaign in 2021-22 (although he did score 46 goals). Being the offensive leader for the Presidents Trophy-winning team made him a lock for All-Star Team honors, and he beat out Hagel by 100 votes.

C Nathan MacKinnon (Avalanche) – In the closest vote, MacKinnon nearly beat out Draisaitl as the league’s top center from the 2024-25 season, with Draisaitl receiving more First Team votes than MacKinnon. Still, the 2023-24 Most Valuable Player scored 10 more points than Draisaitl this year, while arguably being a larger part of his team’s success without having Connor McDavid as a teammate.

RW Nikita Kucherov (Lightning) – The reigning Art Ross Trophy and Ted Lindsay Award winner was a near-unanimous selection for First Team honors, with only two voters assessing he wasn’t worthy. Although he couldn’t match his 100-assist output from last year, Kucherov was again dominant for the Bolts, scoring 37 goals and 121 points in 78 games.

D Cale Makar (Avalanche) – This year’s James Norris Trophy winner received the most First Team votes of any player on the 2024-25 All-Star Teams with 189. Makar has been on one of the best offensive runs from a defenseman in recent memory, scoring 51 goals and 182 points in his last 157 games, with another six goals and 20 points in 18 postseason contests.

D Zach Werenski (Blue Jackets) – As one of the more unheralded members of the All-Star Team, Werenski came into his own during the 2024-25 campaign. He scored 23 goals and 82 points in 81 games, averaged 26:45 of ice time per game, and finished with 131 blocked shots. Being one of the prime reasons that the Columbus Blue Jackets nearly qualified for the postseason, it’s unsurprising Werenski received so many Norris votes and was named one of the league’s top defensemen.

G Connor Hellebuyck (Jets) – Despite tying with Kucherov with the second-most First Team votes, there was no clearer choice for the league’s top netminder than Hellebuyck. The American netminder secured the Vezina Trophy and Hart Memorial Trophy this season, leading the league in wins (47), GAA (2.00), shutouts(8), Goals Saved Above Average (41.6), and Adjusted Goals Against Average (2.13).

Second Team

LW Brandon Hagel (Lightning) – Hagel narrowly beat out Alex Ovechkin for Second Team honors despite the latter receiving more First Team votes. Regardless of Ovechkin’s impressive season, there’s no question the right decision was made with Hagel. The six-year veteran scored 35 goals and 90 points in 82 games for Tampa Bay this season, besting his career-high last season by 15 points. Additionally, unlike Ovechkin, Hagel finished ninth in Selke Trophy voting as one of the league’s top defensive forwards.

C Leon Draisaitl (Oilers) – As previously mentioned, the vote between Draisaitl and MacKinnon came down to the wire. Draisaitl finished with an equally impressive season, scoring 52 goals and 106 points in 71 games, securing the Maurice Richard Trophy as the league’s top goal-scorer. Furthermore, in a solid argument for Draisaitl, he finished sixth in Selke Trophy voting, far higher than MacKinnon, who placed 29th.

RW David Pastrňák (Bruins) – In another close vote, Pastrňák narrowly bested Toronto Maple Leaf Mitch Marner for the second-best right winger from the 2024-25 campaign. Despite a lackluster year from the Boston Bruins, who finished with the 28th-ranked offense, Pastrňák didn’t notice. The Czech winger scored 43 goals and 106 points in 82 games, and brought up his production over the last three years to 151 goals and 329 points in 246 games.

D Victor Hedman (Lightning) – The captain of the Lightning was also in a close vote, beating Winnipeg Jets’ Josh Morrissey by a few votes. There are arguments for both sides, but Hedman finished the year with more goals (15), assists (51), points (66), blocked shots (133), and CorsiFor% at even strength (53.5%) compared to Morrissey.

D Quinn Hughes (Canucks) – Hughes rightfully received the most Second Team votes of his counterparts. As the primary reason the Vancouver Canucks had any sense of competitiveness this year, Hughes scored 16 goals and 76 points in 68 games, averaging 25:44 of ice time a game. Had Hughes remained healthy for the entire 2024-25 campaign, he likely would have presented a bigger challenge to Makar and Werenski as the league’s top blueliner.

G Andrei Vasilevskiy (Lightning) – After a down 2023-24 campaign (comparatively to his career), Vasilevskiy returned to form in 2024-25. The former Vezina Trophy winner finished with a 38-20-5 record in 63 starts, with a .921 SV% and 2.18 GAA. It wasn’t enough to beat out Hellebuyck, but Vasilevskiy easily would have been named the league’s top netminder in any other year.

Leon Draisaitl, Connor Hellebuyck, Nikita Kucherov Named Hart Trophy Finalists

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Oilers center Leon Draisaitl, Jets goaltender Connor Hellebuyck, and Lightning right-winger Nikita Kucherov have been named the Hart Trophy finalists as the NHL’s most valuable player for the 2024-25 season, the league announced today (via X).

Like most other major awards, the Hart is voted on by members of the Professional Hockey Writers’ Association. It’s one of the longest-running annual honors in the league, first presented in 1924. Each voter submits a five-player ballot with a 10-7-5-3-1 points system. Compared with the Ted Lindsay Award, voted on by the players for best player, Kucherov is the only carryover member in this year’s nominations.

Draisaitl and Kucherov are in the running to win the Hart for the second time in their careers, while Hellebuyck is a first-time finalist after finishing top 10 in voting in 2019-20 and 2023-24. He’s the first goalie to finish as a finalist for the award since the Rangers’ Igor Shesterkin in 2021-22, and he’s aiming to be the first to win it since the Canadiens’ Carey Price in 2014-15.

Draisaitl, 29, has never been nominated for the Hart without winning it. He didn’t receive any votes last year after four straight years in the top 10, but rebounded with a vengeance in 2024-25 with a league-leading 52 goals despite missing 11 games due to injuries. It was the German superstar’s first time leading the league in goals, and his 11 game-winners led the league for the third time.

Hellebuyck wins a nomination in what will likely be an extremely tight vote when results are released following the announcement of the winner. The 31-year-old has continued his dominant run as the league’s best regular-season netminder over the past half-decade, posting a .925 SV% along with a league-leading 2.00 GAA, eight shutouts, 47 wins, and 41.6 goals saved above average – all career-highs, too – in 63 appearances.

As for Kucherov, he secures his second straight Hart nomination, along with the Art Ross Trophy as the league’s leading point-getter, for the second straight season. While his campaign ended in defeat at the hands of the Panthers in last night’s Game 5, he posted 84 assists and 121 points in 78 games in the regular season en route to the 31-year-old’s third career Hart nomination. With a win, the future Hall-of-Famer would join Alex Ovechkin as the only Russian in league history with multiple MVP awards.

Connor Hellebuyck, Darcy Kuemper, Andrei Vasilevskiy Named Vezina Trophy Finalists

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Connor Hellebuyck of the Jets, Darcy Kuemper of the Kings, and Andrei Vasilevskiy of the Lightning have been selected as the NHL’s Vezina Trophy finalists as the league’s top goaltender for the 2024-25 season, the league announced today (X link).

Hellebuyck backstopped a Jets roster that faced some question marks at the beginning of the season to the franchise’s first Presidents’ Trophy, posting a league-best 47-12-3 record in his 62 starts and one relief appearance. It’s Hellebuyck’s third consecutive Vezina nomination, and it comes in conjunction with his second straight Jennings Trophy for tending the goal of the league’s stingiest defensive team on the whole.

Playoff performance so far notwithstanding, Hellebuyck’s regular-season numbers have him as the clear favorite to win the Vezina for the second year in a row and the third time in his career. That’s certainly a long way off from Jacques Plante’s record of seven, but he could be the first one to join the three-time club since Martin Brodeur won his third of four in 2007.

Hellebuyck led the league in goals against average (2.00), shutouts (eight), and goals saved above expected (39.6, per MoneyPuck). That’s the best figure a goalie has posted in a season since Juuse Saros posted a remarkable 46.7 GSAx in the 2022-23 campaign. Hellebuyck’s .925 SV% also ranks second among goalies who played 25 or more games, just one tick behind the Maple Leafs’ Anthony Stolarz. He’s not a finalist, but he will almost certainly be in the top 10 when the voting results are announced next month.

Vasilevskiy will likely finish as Hellebuyck’s runner-up. The Big Cat had a resurgent 2024-25 campaign after an unusually pedestrian showing in 2023-24, logging a .921 SV%, 2.18 GAA, six shutouts, and a 38-20-5 record in a league-high 63 starts. That .921 mark was Vasilevsky’s highest in four years, and the now five-time finalist also finished second in the league behind Hellebuyck with 29.2 goals saved above expected. That’s also a career-high for the 30-year-old.

Kuemper, 34, also exploded for a bounce-back season. After struggling over the first two seasons of the five-year, $26.25MM pact he signed with the Capitals in free agency following his Stanley Cup win with the Avalanche in 2022, Washington traded him to the Kings in a swap of anchor contracts for Pierre-Luc Dubois. Now a clear win-win deal, Kuemper posted a 31-11-7 record in 50 starts for L.A. and posted a .921 SV%, 2.02 GAA, and five shutouts for his best numbers since his Cup-winning campaign. He’s a Vezina finalist for the first time in his 13-year career after finishing fifth and seventh in voting in 2019 and 2020, respectively, while a member of the Coyotes.

Photo courtesy of James Carey Lauder-Imagn Images.

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